Wednesday, May 2, 2012

The case of the nearly dead turtle.

This morning I came downstairs to find our buddy Turtle Tuck floating facedown in the aquarium. My two boys were standing around the fish tank wondering what happened to their beloved turtle. Quickly, instinct (and nearly a decade and a half of on the job training) took over and I pulled her out of the tank. She was stone cold. 'Aw, crap!' I thought to myself 'She's dead. What do I tell the kids?' Then she started opening her eyes. 'Hallelujah! She is still alive!'
I quickly ran the warm water and when I hit that perfect temprature I began running the water over the back of her shell, keeping her head out of the stream, so she could still breathe. She took a huge gulp of air and I knew she was going to be ok. I had to keep her warm, but she was still too cold to move, so I couldn't just leave her in the sink. Wrapping her in paper towels, I did what any animal person does when they need to care for a sick critter. I bit the bullet and stuffed the turtle down my shirt. The body heat would certainly help and I could most assuredly keep an eye on her as I got breakfast ready for the boys and I.

Yes, I risked being bitten in a very uncomfortable place for our reptilian family member, but it was totally worth it because in ten minutes time, she was doing better and now she is warming up in the sink in warm water and is able to move again. I must say, looking at my sons' happy faces I'm so glad I had the opportunity to do this sort of thing as a career and you would be correct in assuming this wasn't the first time I've had the chance to fall back on my training and save an animal. So that's been my morning...how was yours?